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US cable giant Comcast is offering some subscribers an app that tracks the whereabouts of its technicians before they arrive for a service appointment. So if you're waiting around for ages wondering where he or she is, there'll be a light at the end of the tunnel.
The ISP said its MyAccount app, available on iOS and Android devices, would soon add the real-time tracking feature.
According to Comcast ( http://corporate.comcast.com/comcast-voices/my-account-app-technician ), it will activate when the technician reports in as being 30 minutes away within the target two-hour appointment period. Users will then be able to track the technician's vehicle on a map to better gauge where they are.
Currently, Comcast is testing out the feature in the Boston area. No date for a full roll-out has been given.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/21/comcast_tracking_app/
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Monday November 24 2014, @03:51PM
Or a better demarc point. Or more accurately, any demarc point at all. Toward the end of the era of landline phones, they installed a box on the side of your house you could plug a phone into. If that works, the problem is inside wiring and you'll have to pay more / schedule differently. If the phone doesn't work at the demarc point, the problem is telco. Then again, the demarc being on the side of your house means there is no need for access inside your house, so let someone show up any ole time the sun is up, or after sundown if pre-arranged.
If there's an inside wiring problem, any electrical goofball can fix that, no need to contact the cableco. On the other hand if the problem is upstream of the demarc then the cableco is needed.
This business model is the same as how your electrical power is provided. Depending on state tariff and regulation or lack thereof, your power meter is probably your demarc point for electrical service. Its a business model that works pretty well.